


If the devil comes knocking

by nanialbee9



Category: Warrior Nun (TV)
Genre: Beatrice is mentioned and Avatrcie barely hinted because they are children, Found Family, Gen, Spookytober, kid!Ava, no one dies on my watch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-19
Updated: 2020-10-19
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,613
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27068818
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nanialbee9/pseuds/nanialbee9
Summary: Camila likes to keep an eye out forparanormalactivities... until she finds one.
Relationships: Shannon Masters & Ava Silva, Shotgun Mary & Ava Silva, Shotgun Mary/Shannon Masters, Sister Camila & Shannon Masters, Sister Camila & Shotgun Mary (Warrior Nun), Sister Camila & Sister Lilith, Sister Lilith & Shannon Masters, Sister Lilith & Shotgun Mary (Warrior Nun)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 22





	If the devil comes knocking

Camila stares at the screen, waiting. The divinium device has picked up an abnormal signal, and she decided to hack her way into listening to it.

"911, what's your emergency?", it's a male voice, young, but experienced, so maybe late twenties. "Hello?" There's silence on the other end, but the kind that lets you know has someone there, if that makes sense. Then there's a stammer. "Are you there? Can you speak? Click any key in your phone if you cannot speak at the moment." Nothing, and then:

"Please, help." Is a whisper, so small. Camila's heart sinks, a child, surely. "Th... There's something in the hall." The child says, and Camila can hear the dispatcher taking a breath. She imagines dealing with children in danger has to be troubling. She herself has a lump in her throat, but she's also focusing on the wording, because it was not 'there's someone' but 'there's _something_ ', and the divinium picked it up. So she has her finger ready to transfer the call to Mary and Shannon the second she's sure.

"Ok, can you tell me your address?" The child, a little girl, stays silent for a few seconds, and with some difficulty explains that she's at an orphanage, in the limits of town, the dispatcher is able to work with her knowledge to figure out the address. "Good, that's good. Are you alone?"

"Yes"

"You're alone in your room. Can you safely find someone, an adult, an older kid?"

"It's in the hall"

"What's your name, dear?"

"Ava"

"Ok, Ava. How old are you?"

"5" Camila's finger twitches in the keypad because this can't be good. _Why is a 5-year-old alone in a room, though?_ She's also worried the dispatcher may dismiss Ava's call as a scared child in no real danger, just alone in her room at night.

"There's a phone in your room?" He sounds surprised, and honestly, Camila is, too. She didn't even think about that.

"No... she left hers" There's a startling, distant noise, and they can hear Ava gasping, scared.

"Alright, Ava. What was that? Can you tell?"

"It was _it_ ", the girl's voice trembles and Camila's heart squeezes.

"It? Like an animal?"

"I don't know."

"Ok, alright. Are you sure there's no way for you to find someone for help inside the building? Safely. Can you hear someone else, someone you know?"

"No, I'm alone. I'm in the bad room"

_The bad room?_

"What is that kid?"

"For when I'm bad." Camila can hear the hitch in the dispatcher's breath, or maybe is hers because _what the duck?_

"Ava, can you get out of there?" Somehow he sounds like he understands and there's urgency in his tone now. Camila stiffens.

"It's locked" Camila closes her eyes.

"They locked you in?"

"Uh-huh. Sometimes they t..." There's a distinct _roar_ , like a frustrated grunting sound, that cuts Ava off. And now Camila can see the dispatcher has made the urgency known to the police. The ETA on the screen reads 15 min. 

"That's too long! Why is it so long?" Camila whispers and decides she is going to contact Mary and Shannon anyway.

"Aww Camila, c'mon! I was ready for a lazy night!" If it were anyone but Mary that would have sounded like a petulant whine. And Camila would have laughed like she can hear Shannon laughing now. But she's worried about the little girl.

"Guys, there's a girl locked in a room at the orphanage on the edge of town. She says there's something out there." Camila has to pause for air and Mary takes the chance to interrupt:

"Like an animal? Is the police on their way?"

"Like _something_. The divinium picked it up!"

"We'll be there in five minutes Cam, let us hear, please." Shannon tells her, while there's the sound of Mary starting the van's engine. She passes the call through to them, so they can listen to the conversation Ava and the dispatcher are having. He seems to have confirmed she has no way of getting out of the room on her own.

"You'll be there 8 minutes faster than the police." Camila lets them know. Just then Lilith enters the room.

"What's the fuzz?" Camila relies on them, again, what's happened since she picked on the 911 call. When she finishes she can see Lilith's about to say something to show her disbelieve on the relevance of the situation for them to intervene, but just at that moment there's a crashing sound on Ava's end and the girl can help the scream that's ripped from her throat.

"Ava? Ava! Can you hide? Is there a place where you can hide in the room?"

"Please, please, please." The girl is crying now, terrified. "It's closer! Help me please!"

"We're coming kid" Mary murmurs at the same time the dispatcher says:

"Helps on the way, Ava. Can you hide?"

"No" A whimper.

"I know it's scary, but you're being very brave. Can you take a breath for me and look around the room, see if you can find somewhere you can hide while helps gets there?" The silence stretches for longer seconds but then:

"Under the bed?" Is hesitant

"Yes, that's a good idea. Well done, Ava! Can you hide there?"

"It's scary, dark, small" 

"Claustrophobic? At 5!?" Lilith sounds incredulous now, maybe outraged.

"Ok, I know that's a little scary, but if you can hide there you'd be safer until help arrives, yeah?" The lack of response shows Ava's doubt louder than any vocal reply she could have mustered. "Listen, sweetheart, Ava, my name is JC, I'm your friend and I want you to be safe, ok? I think you'd be safer if you hide under the bed." Then there's a loud pounding sound like someone is trying to take down Ava's door. The girl screeches and the sound of rustling little feet tells them she decided to follow JC's advice.

"Are you ok, Ava?"

"Under the bed." Her voice trembles, but she doesn't seem to be crying anymore.

"Good. Why are you in the bad room?"

"'Cause my screams wake the others."

"You have nightmares?" 

"Yeah"

"Me too. That's not being bad, Ava. They shouldn't have locked you in the bad room, ok?"

"You've scary dreams, too?"

"I do."

"You wake the others?"

"Sometimes. But my friends help me see that I'm safe and I feel better."

"Oh. Sister Frances says I'm a burden."

"You are not!" It's a resounding cry from all of them, but Ava only hears JC's voice.

"Ok." She doesn't sound too convinced, though.

"Can you hear the thing?"

"No"

"Do you think it left?"

"No."

"How'd you know?"

"I can see its feet under the door." The tension turns up so high Camila is certain they could cut through it.

"Ava!" The sound is mocking, evil. It sends chills down Camila's spine, and she can see Lilith white-knuckled grip on the desk. The girl whimpers and sniffles, but stays quiet otherwise.

"Who was that. Ava?"

"It."

"Are you sure? Don't you recognize the voice?"

"Sounds like mommy."

"We're here!" Mary announces while Camila's heart is threatening to beat out of her chest. Because if Ava is in an orphanage...

"What do you see?"

"Nothing, Lil. It all seems quiet and calm. But the divinium is reacting." Shannon sounds like she's already on the move. Good.

The loud pounding returns on the 911 call. And Ava screeches again.

"Can't you hear where the noise is coming from?"

"Only over the coms. This place is huge Lilith. We're trying to use the divinium as a tracking device."

"Good, please hurry!" Camila is officially terrified now. Ava is sobbing a litany of _please please please help me_ and JC is valiantly trying to comfort her. But he sounds upset like he knows the police are not going to get there on time. Meanwhile, the voice goes from mocking Ava to shouting angrily at her.

"Why is _it_ coming after a five-year-old?" Lilith has time to question just before they can hear the door bursting open on Ava's end, and then Mary and Shannon sprinting on theirs.

"Ava? Ava!" JC is desperately trying to get the girl's attention, but Ava's screams would not let her hear him nor respond. The police, Camila sees, is still six minutes away.

"Motherfucker!" Mary grunts while there's a sound of a struggle, a fight maybe. "Where did it go? Shan? Where did it go?"

Mary turns frantically trying in vain to find the demon. She can see Shannon on the ground, bleeding a little from when the Tarask managed to scratch her side while she was shielding the little girl, who's just next to the fallen warrior, eyes wide in terror and tears' tracks marring her tiny face. Mary locks stares with the girl, Ava, who turns her eyes to just behind Mary's left shoulder and whispers, _there_.

Mary doesn't hesitate in lashing out with her dagger, stabbing wildly at a nothing she hopes is _something_ , until she feels relief, like the pressure in the air has lifted, and they can properly breathe. She stops and turns again, Shannon is holding her head and her side, she seems fuzzy. Ava is now covering her ears with her little hands and her eyes are shut hard.

"Ava", Mary attempts to get the kid's attention, "Is it gone, Ava?" The child hesitantly opens her eyes and surveys the room, she slowly lowers her hands from her ears. "Ava?" The girl looks at Mary and nods. "Are you sure, baby?" Ava looks around again:

"Yes"

"Good girl, that's good. Are you all alright? Does it hurt anywhere?"

"No" The child responds after a second or two of silence.

"Ok, that's good. Shannon? Hey, look at me. You good?" Mary kneels next to her partner now, keeping Ava directly in her line of vision. 

"Ow, yeah. Thanks to Ava." She smiles at the girl, then turns to Mary, "She has the piece of the Halo."

"What!?" Is Lilith who voices their surprise, incredulous. "Are you saying a five-year-old-girl has the missing piece of the Halo? How's that possible?"

"I don't know, guys. I just know that the Tarask was about to slash us when Ava screamed and a tiny, bright light shone in her upper back, it triggered my Halo, it made the Tarask cower into the shadows."

"Baby Halo", Camila can hear the smirk on Mary's voice. She turns to see Lilith frowning still.

"Ok, guys. You should get out of there before the police arrive... Is there no one coming to check on her after all that noise?"

"Not that we can see." Mary says, standing and offering a hand to Shannon, "here, let me help you up. Easy."

"Are you gonna leave me?" Ava's voice is almost a whisper, but they all hear it clearly. Camila can see Lilith's frown softening as they share a look, waiting.

"Of course not, sweet girl! Do you want us to take you to someone who could wait for the police with you?" Mary can see Shannon fighting with her instinct to pick up the kid and taking her home with them. She can also see Ava is still scared and shaken.

"I don't wanna be here anymore."

"Do you wanna come home with us?" Mary offers, because fuck it, they can't leave her here anyway, she has a piece of the Halo. Mary can see Shannon smile when Ava's face lights up, eyes wide.

"Really?"

"Of course! We don't have bad rooms... unless you count aunt Lilith's room." Mary can't help but tease, even though Ava has no idea what she's talking about. The girl, however, is nodding enthusiastically. "Alright." Mary grunts a little while bending over to pick Ava up in her arms. Because it's obvious that the little girl is also exhausted. "Let's go then."

"Do you have anything you need to pick, Ava? Clothes, toys?" The kid shakes her head weakly and Shannon frowns, probably thinking there was at least a stuffed animal or something. "Ok, if you're sure?" But Ava is already closing her eyes, resting her head on Mary's shoulder. Thumb drifting to her mouth.

They walk in silence, as quickly as they can without running to the van. Once there, Mary grunts while passing the now sleeping child onto Shannon's arms, now that she's sitting in the passenger seat. "What's the matter, grandma?" Lilith's voice carries through the coms making Shannon giggle and Mary roll her eyes. 

"Shut up." She grumbles while starting the van. They can now hear the sirens from the police cars. Blue and red lights close, perhaps at the orphanage front gate. Mary turns the van around and goes the first few miles without turning the lights on. Not wanting to call attention to themselves. "We're on our way. Camila, see what you can find about Ava."

"Already on it." Camila scoffs like she's offended they had to ask her. Mary can hear her type frantically on one of her keyboards. She turns to look at Shannon, who's humming softly and running her fingers through Ava's hair. The girls snoring softly. Shannon looks at her and smiles. And Mary's insides do something funny. They've been together for a couple of years now and somehow she keeps falling harder for this girl.

"I'm going to bring Mother up to date. She's going to _love_ this." Lilith sarcasm resounds over the coms in Camila's 'surveillance HQ', as she calls it.

"All right. See you in a bit." Shannon says and Camila cuts off the call. Then she remembers the dispatcher and refocuses her attention. The call with Ava got cut off not long after Mary and Shannon arrived at the 'bad room'. But she can see that the man is maintaining contact with the police trying to find out what happened. Camila bites her lips and looks at the door where Lilith just exited, then back at the screen. Taps her fingers on the desk a few times, until she straightens, determined. She types something she thinks it's vague enough and makes sure she won't be traced by any means. Then hits send in a rush, quickly changing tabs, as Mother enters asking for details.

She and Lilith are finishing up the story when Mary and Shannon come in, Ava still asleep in Shannon's arms. They're scanned for injuries by curious eyes that soon turn to focus on the little girl. Camila is itching to fawn over her, but she knows she has to wait for Mother to assess the situation first. And after long seconds of silence, she finally speaks.

"Are you certain she has the piece of the Halo?" Mother asks, looking directly into Shannon's eyes, unwavering.

"Yes, I saw it and I can feel it"

"She could also see the Tarask when it was hiding. Plus..." Mary turns to where Shannon had rested Ava on the couch, takes out her divinium dagger, and brings it closer to the sleeping girl, showing how it starts to shine a bright, distinctive blue. She turns to the others with a raised brow. "She's legit."

"Very well." Mother says after a moment of studying Ava's sleeping form. Her face reveals nothing, but Mary has known her long enough to understand she's resigned to house a new, way too young, member of the family. She can see Camila bouncing with excitement in the corner of her eye. "We'll rest tonight. I supposed you two will have to share your sleeping quarters with the girl? At least while we figure something out for her. We'll make a list of the things she would need that we must purchase. There's a lot to figure out. Perhaps when we know more about her and her situation. Maybe consider removing the piece of the Halo..." Just then one of Camila's computers makes a chirping sound:

"Oh!" The girl turns to her machine and takes a few minutes to study her findings, then frowning she tells them: "I don't think that'd be possible".

Her search discovers that Ava was in an accident over seven months ago with her mom, who died on impact. Some very reluctant witness' accounts that had been logged into the police report say there was a man proclaiming to be a 'Father Vincent', though there's no record of him with matching description or location. He said he found the 'missing piece' and would 'bring his master back'. How he was chased by a 'demon' on the streets and came across the crash. They said he put something on 'the little girl's back'. The man was later found a few miles away, 'torn apart by claws', dead, the official report says a 'bear attack', which is unlikely in that part of town, but less insane than _demon_. The medical report wasn't better on the 'crazy': the girl should have had severe damage to her spine, she should even be dead after the man moved her so roughly with that kind of injury. And yet, here she was, 'a miracle'. No family left. Lots of trauma, nightmares and moments of inexplicable clumsiness, like she's learning how to walk or move at times, especially after a bad night.

"What the fuck?"

"Language, Mary!" Shannon looks at her, and then pointedly at the sleeping girl behind them. To which Mary makes a face and Lilith snorts.

"You're saying there's a risk we could damage her spine or even kill her if we remove the Halo piece." It's not a question Mother uses to return them to the important topic.

"Yes," Camila confirms, wriggling her hands nervously and Mother sighs.

"There's that, then. Get some rest, girls. You did a good job tonight. We'll have to figure out how to accommodate Ava into our lives and home. We also should be alert for the aftermath of the events on the orphanage."

"Speaking of, Mother. Ava was being abused there. A Sister Frances?" Shannon explains.

Mother's face turns sour, a dangerous glint in her eye. "We'll deal with that, too. Tomorrow, though." She says pointedly and exits the room after another look in Ava's direction.

Not five seconds go by before Camila is skipping to the couch. She leans over Ava, hands trapping the squeal inside her mouth. "She's so cute!" She whispers excitedly.

"Thank god she didn't get her mama's looks, then. Huh, Mary?" Lilith wiggles her eyebrows making Mary scold at her.

There are exchanges of words, regrettable ones and teasing ones, laughter: "Does this mean Mother is now _Grand_ Mother?" Lilith grins when she makes Camila gasp with this concept.

Mary feels the tiredness sipping into her bones, now that she's in the safety of her home, with her family's warmth around her. Ava's weight in her arms a reminder that they saved a little girl, and they got to keep her. She vows to protect Ava with all she has. Can already feel an overwhelming love for the girl wrapping around her heart. She knows Shannon feels the same. Is sure that Camila and Lilith won't be far behind feeling similarly. There's no doubt in her mind that Mother has already decided Ava is one of her girls now, too.

"Oh! We should take Ava to meet Bea when she's back in town for the Holidays! Maybe they could have play dates!" Camila exclaims suddenly.

"The girl we helped last year? Daughter of some British diplomats?" Lilith's frowning at Camila, who nods. "Why?"

"Because Ava's going to need to relate to other kids, Lil. And it'd be ideal if at least one of them can understand what she saw. And Beatrice went through a traumatic, similar experience with demons. I actually think she'd be a formidable addition to our little family in time."

"Alright, children. Time for bed." Mary chides and immediately regrets it.

"Yes, mom!" Camila says at the same time Lilith snickers a "Such a mother already", back at her and scurry away when they see the glare Mary's throwing at them. Shannon chuckles and pulls at Mary's arms lightly, mindful of the sleeping girl she's carrying, to stir her in the direction of their room.

Across town, JC is staring at his screen. He had just hung up with the police. "What's up, dude?" he hears Randall ask. JC turns to see his friend flanked by Zori and Channel. "Are we up for drinks or what? What's with your face?"

"I... This girl, I got a call, a child was being terrorized by some sort of... animal?"

"Are you asking me?"

JC considers relaying the terrifying experience to his friends, but knows how it would sound, especially with the head nun at the orphanage assuring the responding officers it was but a reproachable prank from the kids. He knows what he heard, he should have the audio to back it up. But, somehow, it's faint over some weird static. He turns to his screen again and sees it's still black with the single message displaying: 'Ava is safe' signed by some OCS. He has no idea what to make of it.

"Come on, man. Let's go! It's Halloween Night at the bar!" Randall and Zori are already picking up their things and heading for the door.

JC can feel Chanel's presence behind him, though. He turns, curious. She's watching the screen intently. "OCS", she whispers.

"You know them?"

"I've heard of them", smiling she thumps him on the shoulder, encouraging him to get up. "She's truly safe, them." And she looks like she believes him and believes in the message, believes Ava is safe and out of harms-way. And maybe that's good enough for him.

**Author's Note:**

> So I was watching [this video](https://youtu.be/q43WY5XgSFY) and this story just flowed. Hopefully is spooky enough, though it got out of hand, so maybe just the first part could be. I realize the rest it's super sappy :)  
> Loosely based on the canon mythology: The tarask can manifest huge like in canon, or more human-sized, or blend with the shadows. Shannon is the Halo Bearer but in my version, the Halo is incomplete because Areala used the Halo to destroy Adriel, also destroying the Halo into pieces that the OCS has been collecting for centuries.


End file.
